Slidin’ Thru: Borgore

Borgore is the dubstep king. Whether he’s in the studio creating or shutting down festivals across the world, real name Yosef Asaf Borger is just your average dog-lover who happens to be insanely good at making music. Read more…

From producing, deejaying, rapping, and even singing, the Buygore Records founder still manages to experiment with new sounds. Earlier this year, he released his first jazz album Adventures In Time, which even hardcore fans did not see coming. Showcasing his talents to break down all genres in music, this was a breath of fresh air amidst his usual bass-heavy, hard-hitting bangers.

Now, hip-hop fans are in luck as Borgore announces an upcoming release with Gucci Mane.

For those who don’t know, who is Borgore?Whoever doesn’t know Borgore, use Google. [laughs] I make very aggressive angry music, but beautiful at the same time.

Where do you fit in the realm of today’s realm of EDM & hip-hop?I do some hip-hop. I have a song coming out soon with Gucci Mane and Carnage. Throughout my whole career, a lot of my records are very hip-hop influenced from day one. I love it.

How important is it to come to LA as an up and coming artist?I don’t know if it matters I know a lot of people who are doing great without being here.

You have a single coming out with Gucci Mane. Talk about the dynamic in the studio with Gucci.I haven’t been in the studio with him. I sent him a couple beats, and he fucked with one of them. Easy.

Where did you find Trunk?My tour manager found him sitting on my desk. [points to Kyle]

Can you talk about the decision to adopting the elephant for charity and take it with you on tour (EDC, etc)? Does it get the VIP treatment at all times?I wrote the song, then played it on my Instagram live. Sometimes I play sketches on there. Everyone was like, “This shit sounds like an elephant!” So I called it “Elefante” and recorded my manager saying ‘elefante’ on it. I always record people around me, that’s the easiest way to go. Then we thought, “why not?” Since all I do all day is watch animal Instagrams. It’s the only thing I really check Instagram for these days. My life dream is to have all the animals.

How are you going to mix your passion of animals and music?I’m trying to make enough money now so when I’m older, I can just move to a farm. That’s the end goal, just to have a big ass grand piano and 100,000 dogs.

What’s your favorite dog?There’s maybe four or five breeds that I don’t like. There’s one that I really don’t like and there’s a couple that I just don’t care for, but the rest of them I fucking love. I can’t decide between… I want to have a Frenchie, I want to have a Golden, I want to have a Goldendoodle, I want a Poodle, I want a Shih-poo, which is a Shih Tzu and a Poodle. I want to have some angry dogs, like a German Shepherd or Caucasian Ovcharka. I want to have a Rotty, a pit, a Dogo Argentino… there’s so many dogs!

Will you be playing music for them?Fuck music! If I had all these dogs, we’re going to just be outside chilling. No, I kind of just want to play the piano. As much as deejaying is fun, for me, sitting in the studio is more interesting. So before I get older, if I could somehow make the same amount of money from sitting home and writing music, that would be fucking amazing. [laughs]

You recently released a jazz album called Adventures In Time. Talk about the creative process and how it’s differed from your previous projects.It’s actually a collection of songs I’ve wrote over 15 to 16 years. There’s some pieces I wrote when I was 15 or 16 that I don’t remember anymore. I was worried throughout the years, I’d keep forgetting stuff I wrote. I was like, “I’ll just record an album.” Mainly for myself, so in 20 years I could go back and listen to stuff I wrote. This album is more for my soul. And it got pretty good feedback, which was incredible — it was like an added cherry on top. I just love playing jazz. I love the experience of recording live music. Other than MIDI notes and fixing it — whatever you play is whatever is on the CD. Old school! It was sick.

You have features from Miley Cyrus to G-Eazy to Waka Flocka. What do you look for in a feature and who you choose to work with?It’s like dogs. [laughs] I’m not very picky. I just love working with other people. Every singer is like a new instrument. They sound different. They bring something else to the table, so any collab for me is blessed. Whether it’s the biggest artist in the world or someone who just got his name, you can learn or do something with anyone. There’s a very small list of people that I wouldn’t work with, and I’m also not the type of person to throw shade. I’m not going to mention anyone but in general, most people are more than welcome.

What are 3 things you need in the studio?A computer, speakers, and a MIDI keyboard. [laughs] Because it’s really difficult for me to write music without being able to play it. I’m not so much of a ‘draw it with the mouse’, I’m more of a ‘play it’ type guy.

Favorite song to drop in a set?There’s so many. There’s a few that I don’t like.

That you have to play because the fans love it, right?Oh wow, there’s also them. There’s so many though. It’s so accessible to write music right now that there’s so many people that do it — which is an awful thing because everything is watered down, but it’s also an incredible thing because there’s so many amazing producers and songs. They’re eclectic and so many different colors. I feel like we are in a really good spot in music. It’s amazing.

How does it feel to be back at HARD Summer without Destructo?I don’t think it affects me personally. But he’s moved on to other things, he has big ventures. I don’t know what people know and don’t know, but HARD is something that he built that was incredible. I’ve always really appreciated HARD. My first show where I was like “holy shit!” was with HARD. It was me, M.I.A., Die Antwoord. It was names where me, as a dubstep producer from a bedroom somewhere in Tel Aviv, they put me into a lineup where I was just blown away. Destructo did amazing things, and the festival is still going.

Anything else you want to let us know?I’m coming out with an EP next month. It’s called The Fire. I also have a really big bus tour coming to most of North America. It’s going to be fun. Smaller venues and more personal.

What are you most excited for ahead of your BGU Tour?The one thing I love about bus tours… let me give you the schedule this week for example. I was in Germany Wednesday, I was in Romania Thursday, then I had three flights — San Francisco, today Los Angeles, tomorrow Canada — and then next week, I’m back to Europe. Most of the year, I spend most of my time in hotels and planes, and different people. Most of the time, I’m with Kyle. In Europe, I have another tour manager.

But those are the only people who actually stay with me for a long time. I cannot develop human relationships. There’s nothing that I can call home to an extent. What’s incredible about the bus tours is that for two months, I’m going to be with the same people, in the same bed. It’s almost like a vacation. I’m there with my good friends, coming back to the same bed, which is something I’m more than looking forward to.